Declared Plant Policy
under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004
gorse (Ulex europaeus)
Gorse is a spiny leguminous shrub that forms dense thickets. It impacts on permanent
pasture and remnant native vegetation as it invades vegetation opened up by bushfires or
partial clearing.
Management Plan for Gorse
Outcomes

Maintain pasture production and the integrity of native vegetation.
Objectives

NRM authorities to eradicate outlying satellite infestations of gorse

NRM authorities to contain established infestations of gorse

NRM authorities to develop and implement regional management plans to
progressively reduce the extent and impact of gorse
Implementation
NRM Region
Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges
Alinytjara Wilurara
Eyre Peninsula
Kangaroo Island
Northern and Yorke
South Australian Arid Lands
South Australian Murray Darling Basin
South East
Actions
Protect sites
Limited action
Destroy infestations
Destroy infestations
Protect sites
Limited action
Protect sites
Destroy infestations
Declaration
To implement this policy, gorse is declared under the Natural Resources Management Act,
2004 throughout the whole of the State of South Australia. The movement or transport of the
plant on a public road, by itself or as a contaminant, or the sale by itself or as a contaminant is
prohibited. Notification of infestations in the South East NRM region is necessary to ensure
these are controlled. NRM authorities in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre
Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, SA Murray Darling Basin and South East
NRM regions may require land owners to control gorse plants growing on their land. NRM
authorities in these regions are required to control plants on road reserves, and may recover
costs from the adjoining landowners.
Gorse is declared in category 2 under the Act for the purpose of setting maximum penalties
and for other purposes. Any permit to allow its movement or sale can only be issued by the
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Chief Officer pursuant to section 188. Under the Natural Resources Management (General)
Regulations 2005, the transport or movement of grain for milling or wool for cleaning is exempt
from the operation of sections 175 and the sale of wool or grain is exempt from section 177(2)
if at the time of the sale the person believes on reasonable grounds that the purchaser will
remove the plant from the wool or grain before any re-sale.
The following sections of the Act apply to gorse throughout each of the NRM regions noted
below:
KI
NY
SAAL
SAMDB
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
SE
EP
175(1) Prohibiting entry to area
175(2) Prohibiting movement on public roads
177(1) Prohibiting sale of the plant
177(2) Prohibiting sale of contaminated goods
180 Requiring notification of infestations
182(1) Landowners to destroy the plant on their properties
182(2) Landowners to control the plant on their properties
185 Recovery of control costs on adjoining road reserves
AW
Sections of Act
AMLR
Region
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Review
This policy is to be reviewed by 2020, or in the event of a change in any regional
management plan for gorse.
Weed Risk
Invasiveness
Gorse forms infestations on a wide range of soil types, and is very competitive on alkaline
soils of low nutrient status.
Gorse reproduces by seeds, which are produced in large numbers, but due to their size are
seldom dispersed more than a few metres from the parent plant. Seed germinates over a
range of temperatures from 14 to 24°C. Due to its slow process of dispersal, gorse has not
yet reached its limits in this State and is found mainly in areas where it was once planted as
a hedge.
In its native habitat gorse evolved as a fire-climax plant, readily catching fire and burning to
ground level but regenerating from the base after the fire. The seeds are also resistant to a
moderate burn and adapted to germinate after scorching by fire.
Impacts
Gorse reduces the quality of pasture services in grazing land uses. Although young shoots
or seedlings are palatable, the mature spiny foliage is not browsed. Seedlings germinating
under the cover of older bushes are protected from grazing and can slowly encroach on
pasture; old gorse infestations on neglected land prevent stock access and necessitate
expensive control measures to restore the land to production.
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It displaces native vegetation, and forms dense monocultures. The dense spiny thickets of
gorse exclude regeneration, create a fire hazard and provide cover for rabbits. It does not
establish in intact native vegetation, but invades vegetation opened up by bushfires or partial
clearing. As in the case of blackberry, long-range dispersal is a rare event but once
established the thickets are long-lived and continue to expand in size.
Potential distribution
Gorse still has potential to expand its current range and impacts. It has slow dispersal
mechanisms, with many suitable areas at serious risk of infestation. Higher rainfall areas in
particular are at increased risk.
Feasibility of Containment
Control costs
Control is possible but expensive, requiring considerable time to remove old infestations, and
may be neglected unless enforced.
Control of new infestations is easier and more cost effective. Isolated juvenile plants may be
mechanically removed, or treated with herbicides. Some NRM regions have implemented
integrated weed management programs using herbicides, mechanical, and biological control
programs, achieving control of dense established infestations.
Where mechanical removal is necessary, control costs may be high in the short term, but
reduce in the medium term. This has been trialled successfully in combination with
revegetation in a number of locations.
Biological control offers a cost effective means to reduce seed set significantly in dense
established infestations. Gorse spidermites have been successfully used in a number of
locations in SA, in combination with mechanical & herbicide control techniques.
Persistence
There is a very large seedbank with high seed viability. The seeds are hard and long-lived in
soil, germinating in large numbers following a fire or more slowly after clearing of the bushes.
However, the seed bank is almost entirely in the top 20 cm of soil and seed will not establish
from depths of more than 10 cm.
To be effective, control programs need to include follow up control and monitoring for at least
25 years to prevent regeneration from buried seed or reinfestation from nearby plants.
Current distribution
Due to its lack of adaptations for long-range dispersal, gorse is restricted in its distribution to
areas where it was formerly used for hedges. The main infestations occur in the Adelaide and
Mount Lofty Ranges, Northern and Yorke, and South East NRM regions. Small isolated
infestations occur in the Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, and SA Murray Darling Basin NRM
regions.
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State Level Risk Assessment
Assessment using the Biosecurity SA Weed Risk Management System gave the following
comparative weed risk and feasibility of containment scores by land use:
Land use
Grazing - southern
Forestry
Native vegetation
Weed Risk
high
101
medium
45
medium
63
Feasibility
of control
high
18
very high
10
high
21
Response at
State Level
contain spread
contain spread
protect sites
Considerations
Gorse was introduced as a hedge plant around 1840 and deliberately dispersed through
most of its present range for this purpose. It was proclaimed for parts of the State under the
Weeds Act, 1956, and placed on schedule three under the Pest Plants Act, 1975.
Risk assessment indicates manage weed as the action in permanent grazing land, protect
sites in rotational paddocks and irrigated pasture, and limited action in other land uses. While
sale and movement are prohibited uniformly across the State, regional actions vary
according to the land uses in each region.
Gorse is a Weed of National Significance, with priority given to eradication of outlying
infestations. Five NRM regions have participated in management efforts supported through
the WoNS program and are committed to 25-year memoranda of understanding to ensure
the destruction of targeted infestations. These NRM Boards are committed to:
Delimit and map gorse their infestations
Facilitate the destruction of gorse plants within 12 months
Prevent movement of seed
Inspect the sites annually and report to Biosecurity SA
Gorse is localised and delimited in the Kangaroo Island, Eyre Peninsula and South East
regions, and these NRM Boards are committed to the destruction of all gorse infestations in
their regions. The South Australian Murray Darling Basin, and Northern and Yorke NRM
Boards are committed to the destruction of certain outlying infestations only. The
management action in these regions, and in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges region, is
protect sites. Gorse does not occur in the Alinytjara Wilurara and South Australian Arid
Lands regions, where only limited action is required.
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Synonymy
Ulex europaeus L., Sp. Pl. 2: 741 (1753)
Taxonomic synonyms:
Ulex armoricanus Mabille, Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 25: 524 (1864)
Ulex compositus Moench, Methodus (Moench) 289 (1794)
Ulex floridus Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 829 (1796)
Ulex strictus J.Mackay, Trans. Roy. Irish Acad. 14: 166 (1824)
Ulex hibernicus G.Don, Gen. Hist. 2: 148 (1832)
Ulex major Thore, Essai Chloris 299 (1803)
Ulex vernalis Thore, Essai Chloris 299 (1803)
Other common names include furze, furse and whin.
Hon Ian Hunter MP
Minister for Sustainability, Environment and
Conservation
Date: 28 July 2014
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